Price wars currently stand as the biggest challenge facing solar installers in the Philippines, according to research by Manila-based nonprofit organisation New Energy Nexus (NEX) Philippines.

NEX Philippines first surveyed its network of rooftop solar installers in April to learn how the country’s oil and gas crisis was impacting businesses and recently conducted follow-up research to identify how solar adoption has since shifted.

The Philippines, which imports most of its oil from the Middle East, first declared an energy crisis in March following the start of the Strait of Hormuz crisis. It already had the costliest residential electricity prices in Southeast Asia at the time but prices have kept climbing since.

The start of the crisis brought increased interest in rooftop solar installations. Sheryl Estella, New Energy Skills Lead at NEX Philippines, told pv magazine that combined weekly installations among surveyed installers more than doubled after the energy emergency began, from around 30 systems a week to nearly 70.

While solar installers in the Philippines listed supply constraints as their leading concern in April, pricing wars and quality emerged as the leading concerns in September.

A briefing paper published by NEX Philippines explains that customer behaviour is changing, with buyers now arriving to installers more informed and ready to compare installers on brand, warranty and after-sales service, all while shopping for the lowest quote.

“Most installers convert a quarter or fewer of their inquiries,” the report says, adding that sales are now most likely to fall through either because customers are choosing the cheapest quote, or because customers cannot pay upfront.

Estella explained that price wars thrive because customers have no reliable way to tell a qualified installer from a cheap one, so they choose on price and overlook workmanship and after-sales service.  “As one installer told us: ‘Cheap alone is no longer enough. Serious clients want assurance that the system is reliable and that the company will still be there after installation’,” she said.

She added the Philippines would benefit from clearer standards for solar equipment and a practical accreditation pathway for installers that is supported by training and assessment, as well as a public list of certified products, in order to help customers make more informed decisions. 

“These standards must be achievable for smaller installers, including those operating in provincial areas, so that professionalising the industry helps small businesses compete on quality and builds long-term trust in distributed solar, without making it harder for them to take part,” Estella said.

When asked by pv magazine what measures would best support Philippines’ installers and wider solar market, Estella pointed to finance first.

“Installers lose sales when customers cannot pay upfront, and the Social Security System’s planned solar loans would reach further if members could apply through their installer at the point of sale,” she added.

Estella also looked to permitting as another way to support installers. While the government of the Philippines has moved to shorten permitting times since the beginning of the energy crisis, Estella explained that it currently publishes no data on whether those deadlines are met and sets no penalties when they are missed.

“Compliance data, a plain-language guide for installers and consequences for missed deadlines would turn the new rules into faster connections,” she said.

While supply constraints no longer stand as the greatest concern among solar installers in the Philippines, the report says these constraints have eased rather than been solved, with lead times still sometimes costing deals. It also notes that while demand has moved past a panic buying stage, interest in rooftop solar still remains considerably above the level recorded before the start of the energy crisis.

The Philippines is currently considered one of the world’s leading import hubs from solar panels having imported 4 GW of Chinese solar panels over the first four months of this year. As of July, a further 3 GW were heading to the country.